


let your hair down

by katwow



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Lesbian Katara (Avatar), its basically just about hair idk what to tell u, lets start that tag lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27667231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katwow/pseuds/katwow
Summary: By the end of their third week living together, Katara knew the following things about Azula to be true:1. She wasn’t nearly as confident as she pretended.2. She had a wicked sense of humor disguised by her resigned and bored voice.3. She was strangely sensitive about her hair.Or: the progression of their relationship, as told through a series of vignettes involving hair
Relationships: Azula/Katara (Avatar)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 262





	let your hair down

When they were first assigned as roommates, Katara was certain it was a mistake. Her feelings only intensified when Azula’s first words to her were ‘I intend on graduating early and if you jeopardise my success in any way, you will not enjoy the consequences.’

Katara was just getting ready for class when Azula stumbled through the door, slightly green in the face. She was, as always, immaculately dressed in red and black, but her manicured nails gripped the door frame with undue strength as she gaped at Katara.

‘I think I’m going to be sick’ she mumbled before retreating to the bathroom. Katara cursed softly, following Azula.

‘Are you okay?’ she called from the doorway, not wanting to intrude. ‘You seemed fine this morning.’

‘Just - peachy’ she replied between retches, batting the hair out of her face as she positioned herself above the toilet.

‘Here, let me-’ Katara stepped into the room, reaching for her hair.

‘Get. Out.’ Azula spat, gaining enough sense to tie her back and slam the door behind Katara. 

Definitely a mistake, then.

* * *

In the weeks following The Incident, Azula was slightly kinder to Katara, supposedly suffering from some kind of apologetic emotion. Still, Katara often retreated to her brother’s off-campus apartment when she knew Azula would be up all night. 

When she  _ was _ in their dorm, she often found Azula watching her carefully as she assembled her hair in the intricate Water Tribe style. Each morning, Katara would undo the previous day’s braid and brush out her hair, settling into the ritual with ease. Unused to an audience, however, her hands stumbled under the intensity of Azula’s gaze. 

Eventually, Azula’s interest in Katara’s hair spread to other aspects of life, and Katara often spent her mornings fielding an endless stream of questions about her life back home, why she had come to Republic City, what she hoped to do when she graduated (nevermind that they were freshmen). Azula answered Katara’s questions with a cold confidence, but her eyes betrayed her self doubt.

By the end of their third week living together, Katara knew the following things about Azula to be true:

  1. She wasn’t nearly as confident as she pretended. She was up at all hours of the night on her computer, doing supplementary readings and emailing professors extra work.
  2. She had a wicked sense of humor disguised by her resigned and bored voice. Whenever Katara caught it, she and Azula shared a grin.
  3. She was strangely sensitive about her hair. It was carefully arranged into a bun each morning, the short hairs at the nape of her neck loose and two strands framing her face. She never deviated from this style, and Katara never saw her even touch her hair throughout the day.



* * *

After a month attending classes, handing in assignments and struggling to do much else, Katara is invited to her first college party.

Maybe ‘invited’ is a strong word for the text Sokka sends her late Friday morning telling her to come over later for ‘the party of the century’, but she had a theme and she intended on sticking to it.

This is why, after an hour spent convincing Azula her essay could wait until the next day, she found herself staring incredulously at the straightener in her hand. 

‘Don’t worry, I do it almost every morning,’ Azula assured her, separating her own hair into sections for braiding. ‘What kind of people are these anyways, having a themed party in the middle of semester?’ she huffed unconvincingly.

‘I told you, it’s my brother. Apparently he’s always wanted to see if his roommate’s ‘e-boy’ style suited him so he’s making us all pair off and impersonate each other.’ Katara took a deep breath and clamped her hair between the iron.

‘Good, now slide it down the strand a little quicker…’ Azula instructed, watching her with her usual intensity. ‘Keep going, you’ve got far too much hair and I don’t want to be late!’

They fell into a comfortable silence as Azula got increasingly frustrated with her attempt at Katara’s usual braid. 

‘Hold on, you’ve got to twist it under.’ Katara said softly. ‘Yes, like that! How have you watched me braid my hair each morning and learned nothing?’ she joked. Azula averted her eyes, blushing uncharacteristically. Katara found something flutter pleasantly in her gut at the reaction. 

Once Katara wrangled her hair into the bun and re-straightened the front strands, she turned to Azula, beads in hand.

‘Is it okay if I-’ she gestured to the strands of hair Azula had left loose, brandishing her beads in hand. Azula nodded, looking apprehensive. ‘I’ll be gentle, don’t worry.’

Face to face, Azula was fierce, her eyes burning with the usual determination and loftiness. When Katara gently slid the beads into place, Azula inhaled sharply, the discomfort clear on her face. Katara let her hands rest on the other girl’s shoulders, maintaining eye contact as she analysed Azula’s face.

‘Are you okay?’ Katara whispered. Azula flinched at the words, but held her gaze.

‘Hair is important, in the Fire Nation.’ She turned to the mirror, reaching for Katara’s lipgloss. ‘It’s a source of pride, and it’s not common to allow other people to touch it.’ Katara could feel the tension in the air, could sense that Azula was giving her more than just cultural information.

Azula sighed. ‘But I’m in Republic City, not back home. I’m sure you help your friends with hair all the time.’ She snapped open her eyeliner pen, all traces of vulnerability safely stowed behind her mask.

Azula grabbed Katara’s jaw firm yet gently, ignoring the other girl’s giggles as she drew her signature winged eyeliner on the other. Katara tried to ignore the swooping feeling in her chest at the sight of Azula, brow furrowed in concentration as she analysed her work. Being close to Azula was like being by a naked flame: she was dangerous and determined and completely mesmerising.

* * *

‘Hold on, you’re gonna make it worse-’

‘Come on Azula, you can’t walk around with a bird’s nest on your head.’ Katara groaned, trying and failing to remain supportive in the face of her roommate’s incurable stubbornness.

‘How was I supposed to know that teasing your hair isn’t as easy as they all make it out to seem’, she complained, glare burning holes into her laptop where a hair tutorial was paused onscreen. Katara was almost entirely certain that Azula was experiencing some kind of hair-based spiral, prone as she was to dizzying swings between dazzling confidence and crippling self doubt.

After three months witnessing the staggering pressure Azula put herself under and the subsequent burnout, Katara knew better than to judge her questionable life choices. Instead, she kept a fire extinguisher and a bottle of vodka handy for the inevitable breakdowns.

Katara managed to manhandle Azula to the floor as she sat on the edge of the bed, Azula’s shoulders bracketed by Katara’s legs. She made sure to keep a light touch when brushing Azula’s dark, thick hair. She’d learnt the hard way (standing outside the bathroom each morning and banging on the door) that Azula’s haircare routine was intricate and involved as little pulling and painful pinning as possible. She worked the knots out with painstaking care, holding the roots in her hands to minimise the stinging pain.

Once she had worked through the knot, Katara ran her fingers through the hair, feeling for any remaining knots. Azula hummed softly, Katara smiling to herself as the other girl purred like a cat at the scalp massage. She found the activity shockingly intimate, and wanted inexplicably to prolong it.

‘Can I try braiding your hair?’ Katara suggested softly, hoping that the apparent bliss on Azula’s face would cause her to say yes. Azula hummed softly, leaning forward slightly to allow the other girl access to all her hair.

They sat in silence, Katara attempting an intricate and traditional braid in the other girl’s hair. Azula’s hair texture was much different to that of the Water Tribe girls Katara helped back home, and she struggled to twist it into place. She modified the style ever so slightly, braiding it with just the right tension so as to last until morning without pulling against Azula’s scalp.

Eventually, she tied back the ends of the braids and leant back to admire her handiwork. It was only then that she recognised the soft snores Azula would never admit to. Cooing at her friend’s softness, she woke her slightly to nudge her into bed.

* * *

Midterms were approaching, and Katara was yet to see Azula in her bed instead of at her desk this week. Every hour was spent either in class or in front of her laptop, her hair slowly devolving from its bun to a tangled mess at her shoulders by night.

At around 1am the night before her biology exam, Katara had enough.

‘Azula. Have you eaten or slept at all this week?’ Katara sat up, exasperated.

Azula barely acknowledged Katara’s words, humming softly as she continued to type feverishly.

Katara sighed, walking over to Azula’s desk. ‘Come on, Azula. You’ve got to get some sleep or you’ll be sick.’

Azula turned to peer up at her, a slight frown on her face. ‘I can assure you, I’m absolutely fine. I just need to finish this assignment-’

‘Can’t it wait until tomorrow?’ Katara whined, officially frustrated with the entire affair.

Azula seemed completely nonplussed by Katara’s disapproval and continued typing.

Katara did the one thing she knew would get Azula’s attention. She started to take down Azula’s hair, gentle as always. ‘At least let me fix your hair, you look a mess.’ she whispered.

Azula, sensing Katara wouldn’t budge, grumbled back after a few seconds consideration. ‘Fine. But only if I can keep working.’

Katara, satisfied by this, began combing through Azula’s hair with her fingers, tugging out the knots gently and making sure not to pull too hard on the strands.

Eventually, Azula stopped typing, leaning back in her chair as Katara began massaging her scalp. The contented look on her face returned, and her eyes closed as she leant into Katara’s hands.

Azula was practically purring beneath Katara’s hands, and she revelled in the fact that Azula, strong, smart and imposing Azula, was wrapped quite literally around her finger. They had grown closer over the semester, mostly due to the realisation that they shared many traits and habits.

Ever since Katara last helped Azula with her hair, their friendship had become more tactile. A hand on the shoulder as Katara reminded her about a late night training session, a hug goodbye after lunch. It was strange to remember the intimidating and cruel girl she had met at the start of the semester in light of this shyly affectionate (yet still imposing) Azula. 

Azula soon began to nod off, and Katara nudged her awake to lead her to bed. She tucked the other girl in, relieved at her willingness to crawl beneath the covers. Azula winced when she removed her hands, pulling Katara towards her when she made to move away.

‘Stay,’ she murmured, pretending to be confused and exhausted. Katara saw through it.

She burrowed into the blankets beside Azula, settling her hands in the other girl’s hair as they faced each other. Her stomach swooped at the sudden intimacy, no longer tired as she was electrified by the other girl’s presence.

They held each other’s gaze for a long moment, the moonlight revealing the uncharacteristic softness and vulnerability in Azula’s eyes. Katara’s hands come to rest on Azula’s face, cradling her.

‘Hi’ she whispered, smiling nervously.

‘Hello Katara’ Azula spoke, her resigned mask slipping as she smiled shyly.

A long moment stretched between them as Katara’s heartbeat quickened. Azula leaned in slowly and time seemed to stop until -

‘I’m so worried for midterms’ Azula buried her head in Katara’s shoulder, Katara confusedly reaching up to hug her back.

‘It’ll be okay Azula, you study harder than anyone else I know. I know you’ll do really well and-’

‘Can I kiss you?’ Azula blurted out, pulling back momentarily.

‘Yes’ Katara breathed, and finally, finally Azula closed the distance between them. They kissed for a long moment, Azula melting as Katara buried her hands in her hair once more.

Their kisses grew slower and deeper before they pulled apart, both breathing heavily.

‘Good luck for your biology exam tomorrow, Katara’ Azula whispered, eyes closed as she burrowed into Katara’s chest. Her heart swooped at Azula’s attentiveness, pulling the girl closer as they slept.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! like everyone else i thrive on kudos and most of all comments so feel free to leave me a note!
> 
> find me on twitter @kyoshixrangi or tumblr zukka-supremacy. i wanna write a shitton of wlw atla fics so feel free to give me suggestions/ideas!!


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